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MEDIA CONTACT: Aileen Izquierdo
561-297-2442, izquierd@fau.edu
FAU's Catanese Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions Receives $900,000 Grant
BOCA RATON, FL (Feb. 3, 2003) -- Florida Atlantic University's Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions has received a $900,000 three-year grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The grant was given to greatly enhance the Center's resources and capacity to resolve urban problems and is specifically targeted to provide services for the South Florida region.
"The generous MacArthur grant points to the growing credibility of the Catanese Center," said James Murley, Center director. "With the MacArthur Foundation's new support, we will continue to bring communities cutting edge information needed to tackle the urban and environmental issues they face on a daily basis."
Last year, the Catanese Center received a two-year $600,000 grant, also from the MacArthur Foundation, aimed at creating a regional resource center and working with regional planning councils. Increased emphasis on solutions to urban and environmental problems affecting South Florida, including efforts to regionally address transportation issues and the Everglades Restoration Project, demonstrated a need to create a stronger local infrastructure, which resulted in the Catanese Center's proposal to the MacArthur Foundation in 2002.
This latest grant will benefit three main initiatives at the Catanese Center.
" It will bolster the curriculum at the Florida Public Officials Design Institute at Abacoa, which focuses on building sustainable communities through the principles of "new urbanism," a method of creating more compact, mixed-use neighborhoods.
" Through the Regional Indicators Project, the Center will establish an advisory board of nationally recognized experts to further solutions on issues affecting South Florida.
" The grant will be used to create and host workshops focusing on urban and environmental issues most critical to the South Florida region and its residents. Other academic and research resources of the University will be tapped to
participate in these efforts.
Enjoying a national reputation for its work, The Catanese Center was established in 1972 by the Florida Legislature and originally named the Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems. The Center provides research and organizational services throughout the state in areas of policy analysis, urban and regional planning, growth management, public finance and municipal governance. Its director, James Murley, formerly served as the State of Florida's Secretary of Community Affairs.
For more information on the Center's research and services, call 954-762-5255.
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